A few months ago, my cousin Chase introduced Adam and me to World Foods in the Pearl, and I might be in love. This specialty store is family-owned by a couple from Lebanon and offers products from over 50 countries at their meat and seafood counters, in their fresh produce and dairy sections, through their wine and beer selection- and so far I haven't made a bad decision.

The obsession started with the lamb shawarma bowl, which for $7.99 is a sizable bowl of rice, hummus, tahini, pickled vegetables, lamb, and feta. It's delicious and definitely two-meals worth. And made even better by buying the grilled pita bread.

My love for World Foods grew with discovery of the ahi tuna poke bowls. Smalls are $7.99 and larges are just a dollar more and you get rice, seaweed salad, and poke. Adam and I love sushi, but it's not always in the budget so this is the perfect fix. On our first trip, I opted for the sesame poke. The small is plenty, with a generous portion of tuna!

Adam went for the spicy tuna. Since then, we've also had the salt and pepper, wasabi, and oyster sauce poke. None of them disappointed, but don't feel that you have to decide blindly, you can ask for a sample, and you can get two types in your bowl!

The goodness doesn't end there. Enjoy these bowls at their tables with a bottle of wine that they'll cork for you. Or if you're looking to take something home, grab items from the deli or some of their marinated kebabs (the ginger beef were so good!).

Basically, you can't go wrong and you should go soon- just be prepared to drive around looking for parking for quite a while if you're hitting up the NW location.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Adam suggested like five years ago that we start a podcast, so in true Happy Hour Honeys fashion, we procrastinated for a few years, got tipsy, finally recorded something... and came to the realization that we're kind of annoying (but also kinda funny?).

Anyway, here's our very first episode. And yes, we realize that Toro Bravo has paella all the time. And that Katie's enunciation gets a bit too pronounced when she's trying not to sound too drunk. And that Kelly really should have apologized for all that shushing.

54*40’ Brewing Co. Snowball Headed for Hell White IPAWhy:54*40’ Brewing was opened this past summer by GABF medal-winning brewer Bolt Minister (what a name!), formerly of Old Town Brewing, and it’ll be our first chance to try his new beers.Tent Location: 1

Alameda Brewing Co. Cookies for Papa Why: We should probably be put off by all the flavors Alameda is trying to cram into this beer (cranberries, cocoa nibs, bourbon vanilla) but it actually sounds pretty good. Let's see if they make it work. Tent Location: 1

Eel River Brewing Co. Gargantua IIIWhy: This is the third installment of what has become one of our favorites at the festival. Last year’s was the perfect combination of vanilla bourbon deliciousness.Tent Location: 1

Natian Brewery Pumpkin is the New BlackWhy: Everyone loves
a train wreck. Nation blended their milk stout with pumpkin ale to come up with what is best-case scenerio: an ironic take on novelty holiday beers and worst-case scenerio: something you'll want to spit out immediately.Tent Location: 1

Also, head-ups: on average, this year's beers are higher in alcohol than last year's so make sure you have a solid, safe plan for getting home.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Katie and I have both hit up Shift Drinks a number of times since it opened last May and it's become a bit of a favorite for us, but somehow we're only getting around to writing about it now... typical.

Shift Drinks was opened by sommelier Anthony Garcia and bartender Alise Moffatt, who met while working at Multnomah Whiskey Library. The name comes from the popular service industry practice of providing staff with a complimentary "shift drink" at the end of their work day. In this case, the drinks are for everyone and you do have to pay for yours- but the idea is that this is a great place to drop into for a drink or two with friends after work.

The drink menu focuses on cocktails and wine by glass but there's beer on tap plus cider and sake too. Cocktails run from $8-12 and glasses of wine are $7-14. The options change frequently, but we've always been more than satisfied with our cocktail and wine selections. We especially appreciate that they're not above labeling some of their wines as "cheap." We'll take 'em!

The food menu also changes seasonally but there's always a great selection of salads and paninis, though you'll see below that we usually tend toward one of the four bruschetta options. Originally, all the food was $8, which was a crazy-good deal since it was all delicious and the portions are generous. Shift Drinks has since wizened up and food prices now range from $8-10, but that's still a very good price point for what you get.

Come to think of it, it's been more than a few weeks since our last visit. Probably time to check out their fall menu!